Tag: Rocks

Bisti Wilderness, May 2019 – Day 4 Sunrise

On the fourth day of my May 2019 visit to the northern portion of the Bisti Wilderness, I went to a plateau area with large hoodoo features for sunrise photography.  It was a cold morning and even though I did not think it was below freezing when I started hiking, my initial attempt to get a sip of water from my Camelbak tube was unsuccessful due to ice in the tube.  It might well have been colder out on the slightly higher elevation plateau than back in the parking area.

I shot in the pre-sunrise hour, while waiting for sunrise and testing various compositions.

A large north Bisti hoodoo in pre-sunrise light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, 8.0s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Since I had plenty of time and the light was changing so slowly, I began to make multiple shots, focusing at different points, so that I could focus stack the images to improve the front to back sharpness.

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, 2.5s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 7 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, 2s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, 1s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, 0.6s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I was getting good color in the clouds to the west and it initially looked like there would be good sunrise light, but cloud cover on the eastern horizon quickly limited the golden hour light.  One can see that the far features on the horizon here are beginning to get the first rays of sunrise light:

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, 0.4s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 8 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

And here there is enough direct light to cast shadows, but the light is still muted:

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, 1/6s, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, 1/8s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Here there is finally a burst of light through the cloud cover:

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, 1/13s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I had to work quickly, when the light came, since I could see that there were limited breaks in the clouds on the eastern horizon.

Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, 1/25s, f/16, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 56mm, multiple exposures, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 5 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.
Early morning on a north Bisti plateau. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, multiple exposures, f/16, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 5 images, edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

As usual in the early morning hours, I was alone in the wilderness (I was the only camper in the north parking area), but I did see one couple passing nearby on the plateau.  Maybe they had intended to shoot at my location and, seeing me there already, decided to move on somewhere else.  As I was finishing my morning shooting, I caught a glimpse of someone standing nearby watching me.  My first thought was that the couple that had passed by had returned.  Without looking directly at the onlooker, I made a comment about the light disappearing so quickly.  Looking up from my camera, the stranger gave me a big smile and we exchanged greetings.  His name is Daniel and he was visiting from France, spending four weeks in the southwestern U.S.

Daniel asked if he could tag along with me, since he did not know the area.  I was finished with my morning shoot, so I gave him a partial tour of the area, showing him some of the best features that I had found, allowing him as much time as he liked for photography.  He was really good at rushing up and down the steep hillsides that were covered with loose, dry clayey soil.  I would not even attempt to climb those hillsides, even had I been his much younger age.

As we hiked around, I got to know a bit more about Daniel.  He is a pastry chef with a wife, son and daughter, living in a small city in the south of France near Marseille.  He is quite fond of the southwestern area of the US and has visited this area numerous time, but this was his first in Bisti.  Daniel said the U.S. is his favorite country and he would like to live here, but would not want to be so far away from his extended family.

After the tour, I invited him to have coffee and breakfast in the Sportsmobile, since we were much closer to it than the south parking area, where Daniel had parked.  Afterwards, we would hike back to the southern area, scouting much during a long hike.  This will be a topic for other posts.

Until then,

Ken

 

 

 

 

Cumberland Falls, September 2019 – Scouting Photos

At the end of our stay in the Liberty, Kentucky area, we decided to modify our plans and make a stop over at Cumberland Falls State Resort, Kentucky.  We were only a couple of hours away and the online literature made this look like an interesting place to see.

It was much too early in the fall for the best fall color here, but our schedule dictated that we be here now.  I went out late in the day of our arrival, primarily to scout, but I put my camera in our vehicle trunk just in case I decided conditions merited DSLR photographs.

Scouting along the river just above the falls,  I noted a sign that prohibited one from going any further along the river above the falls, much to my dismay.  I knew I could safely get closer to the top of the falls, but I heeded the sign.  The top edge of falls are frequently not very interesting to photograph anyway.

Cumberland Falls. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

This is a tourist attraction and there are railings set up at various view points with warnings not to cross the rails, which of course I really wanted to do, since I was sure I could get better compositions beyond the rails, exercising caution not to fall off of a cliff in the process.  Nevertheless, I heeded the prohibitions.

Cumberland Falls. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

As usual in the afternoon hours, there were numerous visitors out and about, with one group being escorted by a young park ranger.  This time of the year there were not large crowds of visitors, as there are in the summer months.  In fact most of the visitors were older people with no children.  There were a few younger people, who either had no kids or only pre-school kids.

Cumberland Falls. iPhone photograph with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

It was an overcast afternoon and, even though earlier than I would normally shoot at sunset, it was obvious that there would be no sunset light this day.  So I decided to go back to my vehicle, get my camera gear and shoot anyway.  As I began to get out the camera gear, rain began.  I initially sat in the vehicle for a while, then decided to give up for the day.  Of course, by the time I drove back to our cottage, the rain had stopped.  At least I got a few iPhone images, just in case something happened to prevent me from returning in the morning, when the rain was predicted to have passed by.

Tomorrow I will try to get some long exposures of the waterfall for that silky flowing water effect.

Until then,

Ken

Colorado – July 2019 – Gates of Lodore in Dinosaur National Monument – Scouting & Sunset Shoot

From Irish Canyon, we traveled to the Gates of Lodore campsite in Dinosaur National Monument, checking out Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge first.  We decided that Browns Park would not be an easy place to photograph without having a second vehicle, since it was too far from the campsites to the most photogenic scenes.  This is one downside to traveling in a camper type vehicle, as it takes a while to prepare the vehicle for travel after camping in it.

When we arrived at the Gates of Lodore campground, there were plenty of available campsites, but the one nearest the trailhead to the Gates of Lodore and with good shade (it was hot) had a car parked in it, even though the site did not have a reserved tag on it.  We thought it possible that the car’s occupants had walked to the kiosk to fill out the reservation form, so we chose the next closest site that also had good shade.  We were not initially sure that we would stay in that site, so we were just sitting around discussing options, when a volunteer park ranger stopped by and provided much useful information about the park.  One of our concerns was the bear activity sign warning posted at each campsite.  There were bear vaults provided for storing food and anything with an odor that might attract bears.  We had lots of such items and it would be much trouble to move everything into a bear vault and retrieve it as we needed it.  The ranger assured us that there had not been any recent bear activity, so we did not need to bother with the vaults.  We also asked about mountain lion activity, but there had not been any sighting anywhere nearby, even though they are known to be around somewhere.  Mountain lions and bears are always a concern when hiking trails in their territory.

At least a half hour went by and no one returned to the vehicle in our preferred campsite, so we assumed hikers were parked there, where they should not be, if they were not camping.  So we paid for the site we were in and shortly afterwards the car’s occupants returned and departed.  Other campers soon came along and claimed that campsite.

After setting up the Sportsmobile for camping, we applied sunscreen over our insect repellant or vice versa and hiked to the Gates of Lodore.

Bleached animal bones along the Gates of Lodore trail. iPhone photo, with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Along the trail we spotted a number of bleached animal bones, possibly remnants of a wild animal’s meal.

The trail we were on went far into the back country, but we only checked out view points for photographing the Gates of Lodore, which is a canyon through which the Green River flows.

Gates of Lodore, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

The first few overlooks we checked out had much distracting vegetation in the foreground.  My son found a very nice place off of the trail from which to photograph.

We returned to camp, had a meal and returned to the trail prior to sunset.  I initially tried to shoot near the view point in the scouting photo above, but I soon abandoned that, since I was not pleased with any composition I could make there.  I went back along the trail and set up near my son, so I’m sure we ended up with very similar photos, although he somehow manages to get more appealing compositions than I, even in the same location.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/13s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I made numerous shots as the sun went lower into the sky, varying my compositions a little.  Shooting down river into the canyon at this location presents the frequent lighting restrictions as most canyons.  The canyon walls go into shadow well before sunset, so the typical golden hour light is not really attained.  There was some good light on the foreground vegetation from time to time and there was some colorful vegetation mixed with various shades of green.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 20mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 640. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Even though these first two images are the same composition, the light on the foreground is different in each.

One can see the shadow moving quickly up the canyon wall on the left of these next two photos.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I alternated from landscape to vertical trying to get some variation in the compositions.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 22mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

One can see how the light is changing on the foreground and the canyon walls.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

I varied the composition to get either more or less of the foreground boulders and/or the rock outcrop along the near canyon edge.

Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 800. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.
Gates of Lodore at sunset. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm @ 15mm, f/11, 1/125s, ISO 1000. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and Dxo Nik modules.

Soon the light on the canyon wall was totally gone and only the clouds in the sky were varying in the images.

After this shoot we thought maybe sunrise would be a better time to shoot here.  So we will come back in the morning.

Until then,

Ken

 

North Bisti – May 2019 – Day 3 Scouting

My mid-day scouting activity proved really useful for learning my way around in the northern part of the Bisti Wilderness as well as for determining good places for either sunrise and/or sunset landscape photography.  I also began to make written notes, rather than relying upon my memory, since I’m seeing so much variation here that my brain cannot reliably recall some details, especially a few days after the fact.

Today my primary destination was the plateau area with a couple of significantly large hoodoos that I had first seen during my March 2019 visit with my oldest son.  I wanted to get a better fix on the best route to these features and a better idea of how much time to allow for hiking there from the north parking area.

I would then explore more in that area.

I followed a general route that I had already found, but explored a slight deviation as I was climbing up out of a valley/wash near a previously found exit point.

Instead of going straight up a somewhat steep, red rock strewn exit, I turned to the right, up another short incline to see where that took me.  I entered into a smallish, enclosed area, which I initially thought might be a dead end route.

Looking around the little nook, I spotted this small hoodoo on the wall near where I had entered:

Small Sentinel. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

It looked like a hoodoo sentinel standing guard over the little nook.

On the opposite side from where I came in, I could see that it would be possible to climb out there, so I went up the hill and entered into a large, flat area, which I recognized as being just east of an area my son and I had exited into from another direction during our March visit.  We had come into that area via a much more difficult route.

Now I was actually on the plateau of my destination, so I began to walk to the south, which I recalled was where the large hoodoos and other features were located.

Hoodoo Plateau. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

In a blog post from the March visit, I included scouting photographs of the large pedestal like hoodoos in the above image.  We did not get back here on that visit.  Looking around, I realized that this area would be good for either sunrise or sunset shoots.

I continued exploring this area to the west and south.  Finding areas that were familiar from the March 2019 and March 2011 visits:

Many Hoodoos in a Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Many Hoodoos in a Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

There are a number of deep canyons or washes crisscrossing this badlands area with many hoodoos lining the walls of the washes.

Hoodoos and Wide Vista. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
A deep wash lined with hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I explored along the top edge of the deep washes finding many interesting features.

Resting Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Can you see the leading lines in these photos:?

Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I recall photographing in this area in 2011 during my first visit to Bisti and I still have a few photos of the features in this image:

Hoodoo Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I also found features that make good abstract photographs, like this one:

Abstract. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Wandering through a hodgepodge of rocks along the edge of a deep wash I found the fish like hoodoo at the right end of the line of hoodoos:

Fish Tank. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.
The Fish. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

And this scary looking rock:

Demon Head. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

Just behind the fish hoodoo:

The Pterodactyl. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

On the way out of this area:

Piling on. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I could see these large wing like hoodoos on the far side of a deep wash:

Across the Deep Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik Modules.

I did not know how to access those far away wing hoodoos at this time; but later I found a way down into the wash and a way to hike up near those wings.

I think that is more than enough for this blog,

Ken

Bisti May 2019 – Day 3 Sunrise – Continued

Petrified log and north Bisti vista. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/16, 1/13s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 13 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The last shots that I acquired on the hillside, where I spent most of the early morning on day 3 in the northern portion of the Bisti Wilderness, were of the long slender petrified log that I had discovered in scouting this area a couple of days prior.

I had found a way to safely get down a hillside and shoot near the log.  The first image above is taken from a place on the hillside above the log.

Petrified log sections in North Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I shot four images from the perspective above, focusing at different points in the scene, then stacked those images using Helicon software.  Focusing stacking results in a sharp image from front to back in the image.

The image below is created in the same manner, using 6 images, each with a different focus point.

Petrified log in north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/10s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Satisfied that I had done as much as reasonable shooting on the hillside, I hiked back down into the canyon and made a few images of interesting features in the canyon.

The Clam Hoodoo in North Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 6 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I acquired a number of images with various focus points to create these final two images of the “Clam” hoodoo.

The Clam Hoodoo in North Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 7 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I used the Helicon retouching tool for the last image to fix some artifacts that were a result of the clouds moving as the multiple images were acquired.  The Helicon retouching tool allows one to choose one of the multiple images and paint in portions of that image to replace the unnatural artifacts.

If the cloud motion just results in an appearance of a long shutter speed image, showing motion in the clouds, I think that is fine and does not require retouching.  Obviously, this is a matter of personal preference.

The hike back to the parking area was pleasant, with moderate temperature.  I had seen rain in the distance while shooting and while returning to the parking lot.  The sky appeared to be clearing in the west, but the wind speed was increasing.  It can get very windy here, but I am hoping it will not be so bad as to prevent a sunset shoot today.

More later,

Ken

Bisti May 2019 – Day 3 Sunrise

I was up at 4AM and noted that it was very cloudy, overcast and a little breezy.  I thought about not going out due to the heavily overcast sky, thinking there may not be good sunrise light, but I went, anyway.

My destination was the hilltop at the end of a canyon that I had scouted on the first day of my arrival.  There was good color in the eastern sky before sunrise, but I was a little too late in getting to my destination in time to get shots of the best color.  As I was hiking to my destination, I missed a turn into the side canyon that I had to take to get there.  Fortunately, I realized my mistake quickly and only lost a few minutes as I backtracked.  Still, those few minutes cost me a few possibly good shots, as the color was mostly gone by the time I got set up to shoot.

North Bisti Toadstool Hoodoo and overcast sky just after sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 2.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The heavy cloud cover eliminated the sunrise golden hour, too.  I had to make do with the light that I had to work with and the clouds did add some interest to the sky, at least; but the photos are a little dull without that golden hour light and the dispersed, uniform light with no shadows made the images a bit flat.

Overcast sky over north Bisti features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, f/16, 0.6s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

At least, I got just a little color in the overcast sky in a few of my shots.

North Bisti toadstools in monochrome. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/16, 1.0s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I considered converting most of my images to monochrome, but without the shadows, these lack the depth that help make such images more appealing.

Various north Bisti hillside toadstools. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 50mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

There were many interesting toadstool type hoodoos scattered all around the hillsides and wide vista.

Overcast sky over north Bisti features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 36mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

The features in the foreground of the shot above are actually fairly large, but they are on a hillside across a ravine so I could not safely get closer.

I spotted this large petrified log in a ravine downhill to the west.  The slope was quite steep here and I would not risk trying to get closer to this one.  I have a number of shots of it, trying to show how impressively large it appears and the environment around it; but I think none of the shots do it justice.

Large petrified log sections and north Bisti vista. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I continued to work the area, shooting anything that I though might be interesting.

Large and small north Bisti toadstools. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 44mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Looking back up the hill from above the large petrified log is this large hillside with many toadstool hoodoos on the top and a few scattered below:

North Bisti toadstools and hillside. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 3 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

These are the features that are most prominent, when first climbing up the hillside from the canyon access:

A large north Bisti toadstool and hillside. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

A close up of that rather large toadstool feature:

A large north Bisti Toadstool. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 1/6s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 4 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

And another view of the large toadstool with the vista stretching out behind it:

A large north Bisti Toadstool. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 1/8s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 5 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

Down the hillside behind the large toadstool, I got down low behind one emerging toadstool to get this view of the sky and the vast desert vista:

A north Bisti Hoodoo’s view. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/10s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 8 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

I was not satisfied with the sharpness in the first image in this post, so I made a series of images to focus stack:

North Bisti Toadstool Hoodoos. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/16, 1/13s, ISO 64. Helicon focus stack of 7 images. Edited in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Nik modules.

{Note that a number of the previous images are created by focus stacking a number of images.  I finally have had enough of the problems with Photoshop focus stacking, so after some research, I’m trying Helicon software, which is designed specifically for this task.  So far, I’m really impressed with it.  Helicon produces more accurate results, much faster than Photoshop and has an easy to use retouching tool, that can fix things like artifacts produced by moving subjects (for example, the clouds in these images)}.

I do not recall seeing Bisti photographs such as those in this post.  I know others have hiked around this area, since I could see evidence of footprints which had been essentially removed by recent rains;  but such areas of Bisti are less popular with the typical visitors and do not have the striking rock shapes as the more popular areas.  Yet these photographs, when compared to those from the more popular areas, illustrate the geological variety and vastness of this striking desert wilderness.

This post is getting too long, so I will continue it in a follow up.

Thanks for following, remember that your critiques and comments are always welcome and that clicking on most of the photos will take you to the photograph on Flickr,

Ken

July 2019 – Vaughan Lake, Colorado – Sunset

I walked from the campsite down towards the lake for sunset photography.  This was not a really easy place to shoot the landscape, since it was so wide open and I could see details in the far distance, which I knew would only be visible in the wide angle shots, when really zooming in on the image.  A long zoom lens would be necessary to see the snow covered mountain to the south of the lake.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.

The snow covered peak is in the notch in the hillside in the upper center of these photographs.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 17mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

Compositions here were challenging.  I wanted to include foreground objects like the large, lichen covered rocks scattered about and the wildflowers.  The wildflowers were so small compared to the grand scenic scale that they are almost not noticeable.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm (before crop), f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

The image above is a crop from a wider angle  view, bringing out the reflection in the lake surface.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 64.

One can see that there were many of the large rocks that can be included in the foreground of these wide angle views.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.

Turning the camera to the left, one gets another view of the far side of the lake as the sun sinks lower in the west, extending shadows onto the hillside.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/8s, ISO 64.

Moving a little closer to the lake, allows one to see more of the lake surface with reflections of the hillside.  Note that I am still anchoring the foreground with one of the large rocks.  Otherwise, I think the foreground in such a shot would be too monotonous.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 19mm, f/11, 1/6s, ISO 64.

By getting down into a marshy area very near this little channel through the grass around the lake, I got this view, which I really like.  The channel acts as a diagonal leading line from the bottom right corner into the lake with a clear reflection of the far hillside on its surface and the eyes tend to move on through the image from there.

Vaughan Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/5s, ISO 64.

I worked around the shoreline, continuing to use leading line elements in the images.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.

The sun is now getting really low to the west, putting most of the images into shadow.  Mountains to the west are blocking the sun light well before the sun actually sets.

The leading line in the photo above is subtle.  There is a trail through the grass from the bottom right going diagonally towards the upper left.

 

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 15mm, f/11, 1/4, ISO 64.

There was a swimming animal, probably a beaver, that swam back and forth throughout my shots near the lake.  If one looks very closely in the water just to the left of center in the image above, one can just make out a line in the water going towards the left.  That is the v shaped wake left by the swimming animal.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 24mm, f/11, 1/4s, ISO 64.

I moved back close to the channel in the marshy area to get the shot above as the sunlight was fading fast from the scene.  Looking closely at the notch in the hillside on the left of the image, one can just get a hint of the snow covered mountain peak in the far distance.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/3s, ISO 64.

Turning the camera to the left, again using the leading line of the channel, one can see the clouds in the east beginning to acquire their sunset color.  And again the beaver’s (or whatever’s) wake is just visible in the lake as a streak of light.  Just follow the channel line out into the shadowy reflection to see the brighter line of light reflected from the wake near the center left of the image.

Vaughn Lake Campground Area, Colorado. Nikon D850, Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, f/11, 1/1s, ISO 64.

And the final scene of the day, above, with sunset colored clouds in the far distance.

The images in this post are all on Flickr, so just click on the images to view them there and, preferably on a large screen, where they will look much better.

Ken

 

 

Bisti – May 2019 – Day 2 Mid-Day Scouting

My plan for scouting was to go to the plateau where the Pedestal and Tongue Hoodoos (see posts from my March visit for preliminary information) are located, evaluate shooting options there and in the general area.

However, even though I went to the plateau, I deviated from the plan.  Instead, I found a route down into the deep wash just south of the plateau and explored the wash area.  From the plateau on another visit, I had seen large wing like hoodoos in the distance, but I only knew how to get near those from another longer route.  This is one of the things that I enjoy most about scouting an area, results are often more interesting, when one deviates from a plan.

The Route. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

The photo above looks down the valley/wash back towards the north parking area along which I hiked to get up onto a plateau where many interesting features are found.

Along the wash route to the plateau, I spotted this saddle like feature on a hilltop:

Saddle Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Walking directly south after climbing onto the plateau, one comes to a very deep ravine/wash.  I found an easy route down into the ravine.

Temporary Arch or Bridge. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Near the base of the hill just around the corner from the junction with the deep ravine, I spotted this fragile arch or bridge that had been formed by water washing down the hillside.  I’m sure this little bridge will be short lived.

North Bisti Wings – The Seal. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Turning to the left in the deep ravine, one very shortly comes to the base of the hill upon which are the large wing like hoodoos in the above photo.  The middle feature is the one referred to as “The Seal”.  I had seen these from the plateau on the opposite of the wash and prior to this exploration, I did not know how to get to these other than walking up the wash from the east.  The route I discovered today is a much shorter and faster route from the north parking area.

To get up near these features requires climbing a steep slope of loose, clay soil.

North Bisti Wings and Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

There are a few short branches off of the main wash at the base of the Seal hoodoo and I explored along these finding a few other interesting hoodoos that are easily accessible.

North Bisti Wings and Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

A view across a deep ravine, with many hoodoo features on the opposite side:

Deep Wash and Many North Bisti Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

There are many flat top wing like hoodoos and others along the ravine walls:

North Bisti Hoodoos and Rocks. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Emerging Wing Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Another view overlooking a deep ravine:

Deep Wash Canyon in North Bisti. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

A hoodoo lined North Bisti Wash:

Hoodoo Lined Bisti Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
Hoodoo Lined Bisti Wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Back below the big wing hoodoo and others near The Seal, there were interesting clouds passing over:

North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Wing Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Hoodoo Wings. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Silver Efex Pro 2.

Continuing to the east along the ravine more large wing like hoodoos are high up on hillsides along the wash:

North Bisti Wing Like Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
North Bisti Wing like hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

The narrow ravine eventually merges with a wide wash in the vicinity of the Conversing Hoodoos.

A view down a North Bisti wash. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Just around the corner, so to speak, from the Conversing Hoodoos is a large batch of large wing like hoodoo features with one triangle shaped one:

North Bisti Triangular Hoodoo against background hillside. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.
A North Bisti Triangular Hoodoo. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

One can imagine the triangular hoodoo as an alien space ship.

North Bisti Large Hoodoos and Wings. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Many large wing like hoodoos with some forming windows between the hard rock tops and the softer sediment beneath are in this large group.

North Bisti Large Wing Hoodoos. iPhone photo with edits in Adobe Lightroom and DxO Color Efex Pro 4.

Later in this trip I found a way to get up above or near the same level as these features, where I shot at sunset the last day of this visit.  I have not yet evaluated or edited the photos from that shoot, so it remains to be seen how those turned out.

As I hiked back to the north Bisti parking area, it became very windy with rain visible in the distance.  The wind whipped up dust and blasted me with sand on occasion, making the hike back a bit less pleasant.

That’s all for now,

Ken

Bisti – May 2019 – Day 2 – Early to Mid-Morning Photography

After the best early morning golden light was gone, I continued to move around the nearby area looking for interesting compositions in the early morning light and evaluating the best time for shooting whatever I found nearby.

A north Bisti petrified tree stump casting an early morning long shadow. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 38mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 64.

There are a number of petrified tree stumps in this area, so I made

North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps casting long shadows in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/16, 1/30s, ISO 64.

a few images of those.

North Bisti Petrified Tree Stumps in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/20s, ISO 64.

There are many rocks in various shapes scattered around the desert here.  Some are short hoodoo or toadstool like features.

North Bisti rocks casting long shadows on the desert floor in early morning light. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 48mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

I converted a number of my shots from this shoot to monochrome, since I think this time of the morning with long shadows is really good for monochrome.

The rock in the top right of this photo maybe should have an xxx rating:

An apparently virile male Bisti rock. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 46mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.
An early morning scene in north Bisti. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 34mm, f/16, 1/40s, ISO 64.

I like the diagonal line of rocks and their shadows set against the wide open desert in the above photo.

Bisti Toadstool Rocks and Shadows. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 40mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

These short toadstool like rock features cast interestingly shaped shadows and I like the little rock with a sliver of light highlighting it in the shadow in the foreground in the above image.

A north Bisti wilderness scene in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

A stark image of the Bisti desert environment is presented in the above image.

North Bisti Rocks in early morning. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/50s, ISO 64.

As the sediment in the desert here erodes, linear features are often revealed, hinting at the original geological deposition.  Fortunately, all of the rock does not weather at the same rate.  Otherwise, there might only be a flat desert with no interesting features.

Scouting photos from this day will be posted soon.

As a reminder, most of my blog photos are posted to my Flickr page and one can click on any photo that your cursor indicates has an embedded link to view the photo on Flickr, where it will look better than in the blog.

Thanks for following,

Ken

 

 

Bisti – May 2019 – Day 2 Sunrise

Saturday night, I was completely alone in the parking area and I did not encounter anyone else during my Sunday morning sunrise shoot.  I had expected more visitors, since it was a weekend.  I’m guessing there were visitors and campers in the official south parking area.

I went to the area east of the big, prominent hoodoo that is immediately visible in the distance as one begins the hike into the northern portion of Bisti from the north parking area for sunrise photography the second morning of my May visit to Bisti.  This large hoodoo on a hilltop is visible from a long distance and is useful as a navigation aid.

Pre-sunrise at one of the north Bisti predominate hoodoo landmarks. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 55mm, f/16, 6.0s, ISO 64.

There was good light this morning, as I shot with my 24-70mm lens.

North Bisti Wilderness Sunrise Silhouette. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64.
One of the predominate north Bisti landmarks at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 30mm, f/16, 0.5s, ISO 64.

A shot a sequence of these features as the sun rose, progressively illuminating the hillside.

One of the predominate north Bisti Hoodoos and hillside at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.
A predominate north Bisti Hoodoo and hillside at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 28mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.

Note that the bottom photo is from a slightly different angle, as I had moved around shooting other features as the sun rose higher in the sky, and I did not get back to exactly the same composition.

A view towards the west between two tall features. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 27mm, f/16, 1/3s, ISO 64.
A north Bisti bluff at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 70mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.
North Bisti rock features and sky at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 24mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

The laminar clouds added considerable interest to the sky as the sun rose.

North Bisti features and sunrise sky. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 32mm, f/16, 1/15s, ISO 64.
A north Bisti bluff with pedestal and sky at sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/16, 1/4s, ISO 64.
A north Bisti Pedestal and Bluff at Sunrise. Nikon D850, Nikon 24-70mm at 60mm, f/16, 1/25s, ISO 64.

After the best early morning light, I explored around this area looking for interesting features to shoot in the early morning light before it got too harsh.  A few photos from that time will be included in a subsequent post.

Until next time,

Ken